Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Final for 2011

Here we are at December 20 and I still have a wine fermenting. That’s
what I call a slow fermentation. The other day, I wrapped the carboy in
a heating pad to warm it so that I could help the Riesling fermentation
come to an end—it’s been more than seven weeks!

For next year, if I do this again, I will have to remember that the
cellar temperature in my home is not warm enough for a reasonable
fermentation, cool or otherwise. I’ll have to take action to warm things
up.

If my warming attempt doesn’t work this time, and I get a stuck
fermentation, I’m afraid that I will have an alcohol level that is too
low for my taste. Worse, however, is that I was counting on the Riesling
to blend into the Gewurztraminer to adjust for acidity. I don’t want to
add sweetness to the Gewurztraminer.

Woe is I…

Also, at this time of year I truly get excited because, after the
winter solstice we start to see more daylight each day. From summer
solstice to winter solstice daylight lingers about a minute less each
day—the reverse takes place from winter solstice to summer solstice.

In our northeastern locale, it gets dark by 4:30 pm at this time of year, and it gets dark at almost 10 pm in June.

I love the longer daylight. Always been a daytime fellow. Therefore, I
rejoice during the winter solstice, and I am almost certain that the
change in daylight must have some biodynamic effect on my wines—make
them better perhaps?

This year, we have lucked out thus far, having escaped major
snowfall—hardly any of the white stuff at all. Today, I bought snow
tires for my little four-wheel-drive Geo Tracker. That ought to solidify
that we get no snow at all this winter, and if so, the money will have
been well spent, for as much as I love daylight, I hate snow much more.
The only good thing about snow is that I can use it to help cool down my
wines for tartrate precipitation, which, in my cellar, may not be
necessary, so to hell with snow—forever.

I know that a curmudgeon should never break this rule: but happy
holiday to all my readers—every last five or six of you. This time next
year, I might offer a toast with my own wine, if I don’t finish them off
before then.

Oh, for those who have asked: I am deeply involved in researching and
writing my next book, which is why my comments on blogs have been short
and sweet, and fewer.

Thomas, I too love the winter solstice because it means the summer solstice is on its way. I remember my first summer in California...I wondered why someone had turned the lights out at 9.30 pm!!! The flick of the switch is approx. 10.45 pm in good old Liverpool.

I remember the first time I visited Europe. Arrived in Geneva in early December in the late am. Got to the hotel tired and cranky, ate something and then fell asleep at about 1 pm.

When I woke up, the digital clock was at 4:00, outside it was nearly pitch black. I wondered what I would do for the next few hours until the world awakened, now that I slept the rest of that day and into early the following morning; but I had slept only 3 hours.

Hoping you are not out of espresso. Waiting to hear if your wine is ready to bottle. I took too long a break from my blog and resolved to get back on track: http://vignette-rockinrobin.blogspot.com/ clearing out papers and photos at the same time. And what is the topic of your next book? And when is part 2 of the history chart going to be complete?

Saw a post of yours over on Fermentation....that's a crazy long fermentation to be sure. The only other folks I've heard that are willing to let natural yeast sit that long are our friends over at Alpha Omega